Wake Forest

Foraging in the “Forest”

We are not suggesting that you seek and hunt your dinner in the woods. We are suggesting that sourcing food regionally makes more sense. We live near Wake Forest, NC, and prefer to forage at the Wake Forest Farmer’s Market.

About Wake Forest

Home to approximately 50,000 people and growing, this busy suburb of Raleigh, NC receives many accolades as one of the best places to live. Its gorgeous parks and recreational facilities are fantastic along with a thriving downtown community.

The History of The Name

According to the Town of Wake Forest, Wake County was created in 1771 from parts of Johnston, Cumberland, and Orange counties, and was named in honor of Margaret Wake Tryon, the wife of the then royal governor, William Tryon. In 1805 this area was designated as the Forest District, largely for the widespread forest in the area north of the Neuse River. Mostly hardwoods but some softwoods including longleaf pine. The area was also sometimes referred to as the Forest of Wake.

The Wake Forest Farmers Market

The Wake Forest Farmer’s Market is an undiscovered treasure for many of its 50,000 (approx.) residents. It is a non-profit association dedicated to educating the community about the value of local farms and the importance of local food systems. The market operates year-round, regardless of the weather. They are open 8-noon April Through October and 10 till noon November-March

The non-profit bylaws state that in order to participate the vendors must be within 75 miles of Wake Forest. The current vendors own, operate, and fund the market. Part of the appeal for many of the vendors is that they do not have to travel too far each Saturday morning to bring their goods to market. Many of the participating farms are situated in the small neighboring towns boarding Wake Forest.

Watch A Quick Tour Through The Wake Forest Farmers Market

Vendors such as Bob and Ginger Sykes who own Turtle Mist Farm. in nearby Franklinton. According to a paper written by NCSU, they purchased the land which used to be an agricultural amusement park called Arkland, “

We recently stumbled upon a local Facebook group called Franklinton NC- Reminiscing. A member’s post described that when the property was Arkland you could take out paddle boats on the lake and other fun types of agricultural amusements. The biggest surprise from this post was to learn lots of famous entertainers performed there over the years. Some of those entertainers were Conway Twitty, Ricky Scags, Mickey Gilly, and Charlie Daniels to name a few. Years later the property also hosted bull riding rodeos.

Photo Courtesy of Judy Fergerson
Photo Courtesy of Judy Fergerson

Today Bob and Ginger use the farm to share their love of nature with others and to teach children where their food comes from. They raise several varieties of sheep and chickens, along with geese, turkeys, pheasants, quail, and pigs. They offer a guest house for rent and have the facilities to host events for parties, company picnics, or even wedding receptions.

Not all of the farms are structured for entertainment. Some of the other farmers who participate in the market prefer to lead a much simpler life. The owners of Gabie’s Garden Vegetables, a small family-owned produce farm told us they do not own a computer or a cell phone. All of their produce is grown without synthetic pesticides or herbicides.

Farming is a family business, meaning that the children participate in the work on the farm from a young age. Since colonial times children tended animals and weeded gardens. The young ones at Many Hands Farm in Louisburg, NC perform farm chores to contribute to the family business. We have been enjoying their carrots, and microgreens made from sunflowers and radishes.

The selection at the Wake Forest farmers market is phenomenal. We prefer it for many reasons; it is local, we can get everything we need, and try something new. We also like to shop here because it is not a huge market. We can walk through in less than an hour and still have the rest of our Saturday. Due to the smaller footprint, we can take the time to visit the vendors without being overwhelmed. It is a friendly and welcoming market.

Participation at the Wake Forest Farmer’s Market can be as a member or as a guest. If you are a seasonal vendor like the Kalawi Farm who grows peaches on their farm, being a guest offers them an opportunity to participate to sell their wonderful peaches and peach ice cream. We had some the day of our visit and it was yummy!

Speaking of Yummy. There is a Farmer’s Market member whose business is called Yummies. She has won awards for her jams at the North Carolina State Fair. The day we went our friend Kathleen enjoyed her chocolate chip cookie.

If sweets are not your thing, don’t worry there is a vendor who sells items that are more savory in nature. Woody and earthy mushrooms. Yes, this is an artsy mushroom company called Shrooms 2 Grow. At their booth, you can find exotic mushrooms, fun tie-dyed tee shirts as well as painted gourds.

If you fancy the taste of sweet and savory then you need to look no further than at the folks at Jammin All Day Long, A newer addition to the Market. The husband and wife team Kelsey and Teresa make sweet treats, jams, and spice rubs. He competes in local barbecue competitions using his spice rubs. We had the opportunity to try his Caribbean jerk spice on some chicken wings and it was fantastic.

When it comes to husband and wife teams at the Wake Forest Farmers Market there is not a sweeter couple than this one, Robert and Michelle. The owners of Lee’s Hill Top Farm in Oxford, NC. Just stopping by their booth you feel the love. They sell fresh produce and meat. Their meats are all-natural and pasture-raised. We have been buying their ground pork for our egg roll stir fry recipe and it is the best!

If you like all natural products for your skin then The Moon Dance Soap and Sundry booth has got you covered. Since trying their soap, I have given up on store made soaps.

The Wake Forest Farmers Market is a gem! You can listen to some amazing music being played as you shop. Musicians like Loos Change, Cheryl Cleveland, Alice Osborn, and Mister Felix have all entertained here.

We highly recommend taking an hour out of your busy Saturday to enjoy all that The Wake Forest Farmer’s Market has to offer. Located at 235 South Taylor Street in Wake Forest, NC.

Sunflower

Stay Healthy- Eat Local

Agriculture is big business in the state of North Carolina. The Department of Agriculture headed up by Steve Troxler, has its own marketing arm called “Got To Be NC” their mission is to put local ingredients and products on store shelves, dining tables, and restaurant menus throughout the community.  Their motto is – Stay Healthy, Eat Local. As we emerge from a pandemic staying healthy is certainly on the top of many people’s minds. 

Not just eating healthy, but enjoying more outdoor activities. North Carolina’s beautiful coastal communities and mountainous regions offer many opportunities to explore agrotourism. If you are seeking fun, family activities like meeting some alpacas, picking your own berries or pumpkins, hiking, or even river rafting, North Carolina has it all for you. We even spent a night in a converted train car turned AirBNB on a buffalo farm in the mountains.  The buffalos were quite interesting and strolled just outside our rental unit. 

If you are looking for horseback riding, mushroom foraging or goat yoga the venues listed on the GottobeNC website are sure to fit the bill. In addition you can visit a meadery, a mill, or a mine. We recently went berry picking at Vollmer Farm in Bunn, NC. We brought along a pair of cheers and cut our own flowers. It does not get any fresher than that. We noticed there was a little ice cream shop on the premises, if you fancied a cool treat after picking. 

There is a never-ending list of things to do outside in North Carolina. Fairs and outdoor festivals are also slowly showing up on the calendar in 2021 and 2022. The North Carolina State Fair is scheduled for October 14th-24th this year.  We suspect that in the coming months we will see an uptick in the Fall festivals category. 

If the crowded fairgrounds fuming with the smell of funnel cakes and whirring of the giant Ferris wheel are not your scene there is still so much to do in North Carolina. If you prefer a more laid-back adventure why not simply map out a few local wineries to explore, you could even make a day of it. According to NC Wine. North Carolina is home to more than four hundred vineyards and two hundred wineries. They are located from the mountains to the coast and this site even provides a regional map to easily plan your trip. Some of the excursions offer suggestions for those who are seeking adventures in the local cuisines as well, such as the Southern Gateway Trail which leads you right through the town of Lexington renowned for its amazing barbecue. 

If a day trip is in your plans then venturing to Saxapahaw, NC  won’t disappoint. Once you are in this quaint little mill town you can rent a canoe or kayak and head out on a guided river tour. You can also experience this area on foot. Reverence Farm will allow you to have a stroll around anytime you like as long as you obey their rules. No dogs allowed, only drive on gravel roads, and don’t take up the time of their staff. If you are a foodie, their website offers some solid recipes too.  Speaking of food, the best place to eat while visiting Saxapahaw believe it or not is The General Store. Don’t let the name fool you the food is as gourmet as it gets.

The Eddy Pub. is another Saxapahaw favorite. People rave about the high quality, local ingredients that are used to make common pub food dishes stand out as something special. Any place that serves Lusty Monk mustard in my book surely understands the importance of taste and quality. 

What if you are unable to spend an entire day somewhere frolicking about, can you still enjoy some fresh air and take home a taste of nature? May we suggest a mini agritourism experience as a solution. If you can carve out an hour of your time on Saturday morning and simply visit your local small-town farmers market. 

I recently read somewhere a quote that said “farmers markets were the dinner table of a community” What a lovely way to describe just what we experience as we stroll from booth to booth, meeting people and learning about their wares. The farmers who participate at these open air markets share their stories, their kindness and their knowledge. We as the public have the fortunate experience to for a few moments peer into their worlds and walk away with a prize from their farming efforts, the fruits of their labor literally in some cases. 

We recently visited the Wake Forest Farmers Market located just off the main road in downtown Wake Forest, NC. This is a small venue with about 20 participating businesses. We easily saw everything and walked out with two bags of groceries in less than one hour. If you have a couple of hours to spare then the Midtown Farmers Market offers even more vendors and usually has a food truck on hand for lunch. The State Farmers Markets in Raleigh, NC can take several hours to visit, especially if you make it across the street to the Market Imports shop and you stop to eat at either of the two restaurants located on the campus, The State Farmers Market Restaurant or The NC Seafood Restaurant. 

If 2020 taught us anything, it was the agricultural and small business community who rallied to feed us when supply chains broke down. It is also them who are leading the social recovery efforts out of the pandemic with outdoor entertainment options and events on their farms. Let’s be sure to acknowledge their efforts and reward them with our patronage. Most of all “Stay Healthy-Eat Local”

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Emojis – The Secret Ingredient

With travel and human contact restricted due to the pandemic, the Emoji has become more important than ever during a period of time where we are sheltered in place. As humans, we naturally need to show emotion to one another. These days we connect with others more often via technology than ever, so it only seems fitting that we pay homage to these little icons. I know, you’re probably thinking the world has gone mad to honor poop characters and smiley faces. But here we are, World Emoji Day is this Friday, July 17th, 2020.

World Emoji Day is this Friday, July 17th, 2020.

The emoji symbol is a universal way to express our emotions about something. How dry and unfeeling would your emails and texts come across without those little characters nestled into your messages? Without them, it would not be so easy to send a virtual hug or show someone how much you really approve of something with stars in your eyes. Sure we could always just make a sideways smiley face with the keyboard in black and white, but it’s not the same.

Emoticon Made by using The Colon and Parenthesis from a Keyboard

What does the Emoji have to do with food?

I was contacted by a former employer who develops and hosts software platforms for the financial sector. They asked if I would be willing to be their celebrity judge for a cookie contest. Well, I would not necessarily call myself a celebrity, however, to judge a cookie contest sounded like fun. 

They explained that they were looking for ways to virtually host team-building activities that their employees could participate in while they were working remotely. One of their employees, Kathy, who is a superstar salesperson and an “As Seen on TV” product reviewer decided that having a contest to see who could decorate the best Emoji cookie would meet the company’s initiative.

They have invited all their employees to make their cookie creations from the comfort of their homes. They will bring them all together to participate in this virtual cookie contest via a group video conference to hear the announcement of the winner. What a brilliant and fun idea for World Emoji Day!   

We thought the idea was worth sharing and it’s not too late to get your kids or employees baking those cookies. In the meantime, I reached out to a baker friend Mica, who owns Micas Sweet and Treats and asked her to make some emoji cookies for this article in hopes that it would inspire you too. The masked emoji was a late addition, but I was so glad she added it because it truly represents these strange times we are living in. 

What is the difference between an Emoticon and an Emoji?

Think about how you access an Emoticon. You must use your keyboard and combine keystrokes to make a character like a : ) or : { or ; ) or 🙁 . Emoticons need to be read sideways to be understood. Just like our example earlier of the simple smiley face. While those keyboard strokes were popular in the late nineties we wanted more expression.

Move over Emoticons because we love our Emojis!

Emoji got its name from the Japanese word for photo “E” and “Moji” is the Japanese word for character. Therefore, Emoji means photo character. Using this logic, most people think an emoji is just a photo, but it is not.  An emoji is a carrier-specific symbol of code that is placed on a mobile device and is then translated into another piece of code to allow the same emoji to show up on another mobile device. The early emojis were only able to be seen by users who were in the same mobile networks. Google however changed that one for the better. Today we have a Unicode Consortium that allows for the approved emojis to be translated to any mobile platform.

Where did Emojis come from?

If you guessed Japan you would be correct. The very first were actually made for pagers. But since that technology is extinct, we are focusing on other mobile devices. Most people think that the Emojis were invented by a man named Shegetaka Kurita who worked for DoKoMo, a Japanese Mobile phone company. However new information that has been discovered by researchers show that early emojis made an appearance in 1997 by a company called Softbank, better known as the J-Phone at the time. Below you can see the early versions of the Emojis.

According to Emojipedia, who researches and compiles information about emojis, the early set of Softbank emojis only contained about 90 distinct characters, but in that set was the iconic pile of poo. Who knew? Today we use emojis for everything we want to express. 

The mobile device industry worth $355 Billion had us hooked from the beginning, but emojis made it even stickier, friendlier, and they allowed us to express ourselves even without words. Recently we saw the addition of the Care Emoji. Maybe you have a favorite? I like the cheers emoji with either the champagne or the mugs of beer depending on who I am celebrating. I also like the hugging face emoji.

Marketers were quick to jump on the emoji bandwagon and tell us that it increases engagement in push campaigns. If you are Instagramming or Snapchatting they tell us you had better have emojis in the messages. Taco Bell uses emojis to connect with its audience and in fact lobbied back in 2015 to include a taco emoji into the Unicode Consortium. Although I have never done this, I am told you can even order a Domino’s pizza using an emoji. 

Will emojis replace words? Will we go back to hieroglyphs like the Ancient Egyptians? All of the indicators say that while we are using emojis more, we mainly use them as a way to support or bring more life to the words that we type into our mobile devices. We do not often use them as a replacement for them, however in the case of the Domino’s pizza, that is their goal. Time and new technology will tell. Who ever thought virtual team-building and mask emojis would be popular? 

Stay safe and be well!

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Eggs Are Awesome

All About Yolks  

According to the NC Egg Association, “Yolk color depends on the hen’s diet.” The more yellow-orange plant pigments, the deeper the color. When hens eat mostly wheat or barley their yolks are lighter.

chicken eating grain

What about those double yolks? This usually happens when the egg is produced by a young hen whose cycle is not synchronized with the other chickens. A while back when all fat in foods was a public enemy #1, egg yolks were getting a bad reputation. Today we know that fats are essential in our diet and healthy fats are beneficial. Eggs Yolks have most of the vitamins including A,D,E and K and contain more calcium, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, selenium and zinc than the white and only a little less than half the protein. The protein from one egg equals that of 1 ounce of lean meat.

Getting the Grade

Eggs are Graded on a scale from AA to B. So what is the difference?

  • AA graded eggs are the best. They are the ones to use if you want a more uniform fried or poached egg. 
  • A graded eggs are mostly what we see in the supermarkets. The whites are a little thinner so they spread out in weird shapes in a frying pan and drift away from the yolk when poaching
  • B graded eggs are rarely sold in supermarkets and are mostly used in commercial baking and egg products.
chicken eggs cracked open

Freshness 

According to the American Egg Board, most eggs are shipped within 1 to 3 days of a hen laying the egg on a farm. You can keep eggs in the refrigerator for 3-5 weeks. Eggs that are kept at room temperature will degrade much quicker at a rate equal to 1 week refrigerated. 1 day = 1 week

Egg History

Europe has been domesticating birds since 600 BC. China and Egypt have records dating back to 1400 BC that show birds were producing eggs for human consumption. East Indian historians believe that wild birds were domesticated as early as 3200 BC. How did they get to America? Well, like everything else in the fifteenth century, chickens came by boat. Source: American Egg Board

The Business of Eggs

On average, each laying hen produces 294 eggs per year. As Americans, we are consuming more of them than ever before. Per capita consumption of eggs has increased by over 16 percent in the past 20 years. Source: United Egg Producers

According to Eggs Feed America, the total economic impact on the United States is $29.3 billion. In North Carolina the impact is over 1.7 billion. According to the USDA, North Carolina ranks 8 out of the top ten in egg production. The average wages of those working in the industry are $58,000. 

Types of Eggs

Chicken eggs are the most common, however, duck eggs and quail eggs are sold in many supermarkets across the United States. We have a neighbor who raises both and supplies us with these eggs often. 

Duck eggs are basic, meaning they are alkaline-based versus chicken eggs which are acidic-based. Some say there are health benefits to eating alkaline balanced foods. I am not a health or nutritional professional so I can not speak directly to that. I, however, do look at the nutritional values that are a matter of fact and recognized by the USDA.

Cooking with Eggs 

Hard Boiling Eggs

The trick to an easy-peel egg is to not use the freshest eggs you have. Instead, reach for eggs that are at least one week old. Then boil the water first and gently lower the egg with a slotted spoon.  Once cooked immerse the egg into ice-cold water until chilled. To peel tap it on both sides and insert a spoon between the shell and the membrane to lift the shell right off. Repeat this process until all the shell is removed. I also recommend rinsing the spoon and egg in the cold water, this makes it easier to peel and rinses away any loose pieces of the shell.

We love them all and have some favorite ways to prepare them. If you like hard boiled eggs, all of them are good prepared this way but because of the different sizes you will need to adjust cooking times to accommodate the size of the egg you are working with. 

How long does it take to hard boil each type of egg?

  • Duck eggs typically take 12-13 minutes from the time the water is in a full rolling boil. 
  • Chicken eggs being a bit smaller need less time for an extra-large chicken egg I would suggest boiling for 11 minutes
  • Quail Eggs are so tiny they cook much quicker4- 5 minutes is more than enough time for a hard-boiled quail egg.

Soft Boiling Eggs

You want to make sure you have a firm white with any soft boiled egg. 

  • Duck Eggs are typically 8 minutes for a soft boiled egg with a runny yolk.
  • Chicken eggs can be soft boiled in as little as 6 minutes
  • Quail eggs 2 minutes and 15 seconds- to 3 minutes. 

Of course scrambled, fried and poached are also great ways to eat them. 

Other uses for Duck Eggs

We have found that substituting duck eggs for chicken eggs sometimes can alter the flavor of some foods. For example I do not like my chocolate chip cookies or brownies made with duck eggs. I did recently make an amazing lemon curd utilizing the yolks of duck eggs and I would definitely recommend this to you. Perhaps it had to do with the acid in the lemon balancing with the alkaline of the duck egg. I understand that using the whites of the duck egg can also make a marvelous meringue. 

Other Uses for Quail Eggs

quail eggs over grits

I like a little quail egg dropped on top of just about anything. My favorite is on top of grits with a bit of crumbled sausage. But why not drop over asparagus or a burger? 

I know Easter has passed but you can color these eggs and they come out so pretty. Try this next year for a change of pace. Kids love quail eggs since they are kid sized and perfect for their tiny hands. 

easter eggs and decorative antipasto

Scotch eggs are a treat for some and can be made with quail eggs so you just can pop them in your mouth. Great finger food for a tailgate or party. 

soft boiled eggs over congee

Do you have a favorite egg recipe? How about Bearnaise Sauce or Custard or Egg Salad? Eggs in soups are very popular in many cultures. My chef friend, Preeti Waas who makes the most incredible Indian food. prepared this wonderful rice dish called congee with eggs on top of it. The fattiness of the egg yolk made the dish much richer Regardless of which eggs you choose or how you decide to eat them hopefully you learned how versatile and delicious they are. 

The People of Wegmans

We attended the Grand Opening of the Raleigh, NC Store. Hear what shoppers had to say!

Transcript:

“Hello, and welcome for the love of food. We met some awesome people this morning at the Wegmans grand opening. Let’s take a look, shall we?”

“So how was your experience at Wegmans today?”

“It was amazing. A little chaotic, but it was definitely worth it.”

“Awesome, What did you buy?”

“I got sushi, a chocolate cake, and a muffin.”

“And a lot of pastries. A lot of pastries and their pastries look beautiful”

“I’m at Wegmans, a home town girl, yes New York city, Love it and could not miss the grand opening. My experience is phenomenal and it’s everything I expected and more. I’m telling you the amazing sub shop! Oh my God, I got a bunch of junk.”

“Here we are outside of Wegmans, go ahead.”

“We are originally from western New York, so I grew up on Wegmans up there so now that I have retired down here in North Carolina I am glad we finally got one down here in Raleigh. We finally have a good grocery store to go to”

“Originally from Erie, PA and we have Wegmans up there. Glad we finally got one down here in Raleigh.”

“Another happy shopper I think”

“I’ve been waiting 22 years for this”

“Awesome, and your shirt I like, just a New York girl in the North Carolina world.”

“I only waited in line an hour, got here at 6:00 a.m., they let us in before seven. A little crowded once we got inside there but I found all my things.”

“Alright, we’re outside Wegmans talking to the fans”

“Uhmm, it was crazy, but it was a lot of fun.”

“Great, originally from up North, love it. Can’t wait to experience it when it’s not a crazy blob of people in there”

“So thank you.”